A soldier who came home on Jan. 15, left Saturday after 15 days of R&R to head back to his base in Zabul, a province that is equivalent of a state in Afghanistan.

Maj. Michael Trotter, 38, was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended both West Point Prep School and West Point College where he played both football and baseball. He graduated from West Point in 1995.

“I was fortunate enough to go to West Point,” Trotter said about his passion for always wanting to serve his country.

He explained that joining the service was a natural fit for him because he never saw himself in a suit or tie.

“It wasn’t for me,” Trotter said.

He said he became a major in 2005.

“Being an officer is a lot of responsibility,” he said. “You are looked at differently when you are a major, I have enjoyed it, the jobs that I have had have been significantly challenging.”

The soldier, who is on his third deployment since 9-11, has been stationed all over from Fort Hood, Texas, to Washington D.C. Prior to 9-11 he was deployed once and has served overseas several times in Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq.

“I have done things and seen things I probably would have not done,” he said about his experiences, adding that the great people he has worked with have only enhanced his experience.

Trotter explained that his current deployment to Afghanistan is to build a capacity of the Afghanistan army and police to allow the U.S. military to leave.

“In order to allow ourself to leave you have to build the right capacity; we partner, mentor and advise the Afghanistan police and army,” he explained, which will help the Afghanistan people do it on their own.

“I believe what we are doing in Afghanistan,” he said. “We are making tremendous progress every day. I am very fortunate to be apart of history.”

Trotter said joining the service has provided him with a great deal of pride because of those he has had the privilege to work with on a daily basis. He explained that the dedication soldiers have is truly inspiring.

“When you are feeling sorry for yourself you look at your right and then your left and see what people are doing on a daily basis and it expires you,” Trotter said.

He said his family has been tremendous since he decided to join the service, adding that they have been great supporters of what he does.

“I support what he believes in and what he has signed up to do,” his father Jeff said. “You manage to live with a lot of things, the major thing is he believes in what he is doing and we also believe in him and that is how we support him.”

“I couldn’t have done this without them, they have been tremendous,” Trotter said. “People don’t realize the sacrifices families make, families across the board are amazing and you can’t forget about them.”

Trotter said he is staying in for the full 20 years and he will see what happens after that.